The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 | Page 2

any complaints or information
that they may have regarding any fault, illegal act, or neglect of duty in
their cura or parish priest. Fray Alonso de Valdemoro was then in
charge of the Dilao mission; refusing to obey the archbishop's
commands, he is excommunicated by the latter, and sentenced to
imprisonment in a monastery. But the Audiencia refuse to support the
archbishop, who accordingly writes a letter to the king complaining of
the resistance made by the friars. Felipe IV, in a decree dated August
14, 1622, orders that the missions in the Philippines shall be subject to
the provisions of another decree (issued June 22 of the same year)
promulgated for the missions in Nueva España. This provides that the
same procedure be followed therein as in the missions of Peru; that the
missions remain in charge of the orders, but that hereafter the religious
be not placed in charge of missions; that they shall be subject to the
archbishop in matters pertaining to the churches and the care of souls,
but that anything relating to the personal character of such priest shall
be privately referred to his superior in the order, who shall try and
correct him.
An unsigned and undated document (1624?) gives an interesting
account of a conflict between the civil and religious authorities in
Manila over the question of a criminal's right to asylum in a church. It
is decided, at least for the time, in favor of the ecclesiastical authorities.
At the death of Governor Fajardo (July 11, 1624) the Audiencia take
charge of the government. One of their first measures is to revoke the
grant made not long before by Fajardo of certain monopolies to a
seminary founded by him for educating Christian Japanese to go as
ordained missionaries to their own country. The members of the
Audiencia claim that this was an ill-timed act, in view of the
persecution of Christians in Japan, and the edicts of its ruler expelling
Spaniards from his realm, and forbidding his subjects to trade with
them. Moreover, the seminary building is being erected in a place
selected in violation of a royal decree, and which has been arbitrarily
seized from its owners; and the monopolies granted are a grievance and
injury to many persons, especially to the Indians who reside near
Manila. The Audiencia accordingly revoke these, and order that the
seminary building be demolished; and they issue a royal decree in

accordance with this decision.
In a letter dated August 15, 1624, Archbishop Serrano advises the king
either to give more power and authority to the Audiencia, or to
suppress it. In the latter part of the same year the king issues some
decrees affecting the religious in the islands. The first (dated August 30)
cites earlier decrees regulating the privileges and jurisdiction of the
religious, and orders that these be strictly observed. In a letter to the
archbishop of Manila (dated October 8), Felipe gives some directions
regarding the religious orders. A letter (dated November 27) to the
Dominican provincial enumerates various abuses practiced toward the
Indians by the friars of that order, and directs him to see that these be
corrected.
An interesting chapter of ecclesiastical history is provided in the
accounts of the early Recollect missions in the islands. These are
selected from the printed works here named: Historia general de los
religiosos descalzos del orden de San Avgvstin, by Andrés de San
Nicolas (Madrid, 1664), and the second part of the same work, by Luis
de Jesús (Madrid, 1681); and Historia general de Philipinas, by Juan
de la Concepción (Manila, 1788). From all these books we select, as
has been already announced, only such portions as closely concern our
subject, and such as contain information of special value, or which is
otherwise not accessible.
From San Nicolas's work we take his account of the foundation of the
Recollect missions in the islands. This is begun in May, 1605, by Fray
Joan de San Jerónimo, who sets out with thirteen other religious; they
arrive at Cebú on May 10, 1606, one of the missionaries having died on
the voyage. After a brief description of Luzón and Manila, the writer
recounts the entrance of the Recollects into that city, their hospitable
reception from all, and their establishment in a house of their own
outside the walls. After some of the fathers have learned the Tagál
language, they begin their missionary labors at Mariveles, not far from
Manila, whose native inhabitants are unusually brutal and ferocious. A
brief outline of the customs and beliefs of these people is presented,
which, although slight, is valuable as being another original source of
ethnological information about the Filipino peoples--the early Recollect
missionaries, like Chirino and his co-laborers, having gone among wild
Indians who had had little acquaintance with